Recent Changes for "Why Wiki Spot" - Wiki Spot

Why Wiki Spot

ArlenAbraham — 2007-04-19 20:07:34

that's a lotta pages, d00d

Differences for Why Wiki Spot

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- While not the biggest wiki software, our software has been run on several large wikis, including the 8,000-page [wiki:davis:"Front Page" Davis Wiki]. We have a large community that can find and fix bugs quickly. In addition, we keep backups.	+ While not the biggest wiki software, our software has been run on several large wikis, including the nearly 10,000-page [wiki:davis:"Front Page" Davis Wiki]. We have a large community that can find and fix bugs quickly. In addition, we keep backups.

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 20:34:46

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- #redirect About Wiki Spot	+ ''Manifesto of sorts, sprinkled with testimonials, goes here!'' + + = Brainstorming = + + Okay, what's really important about Wiki Spot + + * Anyone can create a wiki and start a community + * Linking wikis is awesome + * Nonprofit free service + * Quick editing and simple syntax reduce barriers to getting people involved + + Compared to any other wiki software/hosting solution, Wiki Spot is just better. It's faster, more customizable, easier to get users to join and edit, easier ''for'' users to edit, easier to administer, and faster to start using today! + + + ------- + + Why [Torontopedia] is on [WikiSpot]: + + Here are my reasons for first ''shortlisting'' [Project Sycamore] as the wiki engine of choice, then ''choosing'' [WikiSpot] hosting over installing and hosting it on our own servers. + + * Wikis are today where Blogs were two or so years ago in the minds of regular mainstream folks on the web. Not everyone ''gets'' the concept of wikis...yet. + * MediaWiki, the wiki engine powering Wikipedia, is geared not as general wiki software, but geared for running Wikipedia specifically. If a Wikipedia clone is not your goal, then using MediaWiki software is not a good choice. + * We found http://Wikinfo.org running on [http://GetWiki.net] software, a fork of MediaWiki, as a better choice...if you want to clone wikipedia or a significant part of it, yeah, but for a city based wiki, GetWiki software still didn't have that ''community'' feeling. So we kept looking. + * After discovering [DavisWiki] and looking around, we found a real community, with great entries, some short, some long, with numerous conversations and ongoing comments. Great, this is what we'd love to have here in Toronto. We now have a ''role model'' in DavisWiki. Next, hosting there or here? + * [Project Sycamore] is written in Python and not PHP programming language. We ain't familiar with Python at all, so anything to ease the learning curve is, anything to help us get up and running easier and faster is better and reassuring. + * Hosting [Torontopedia] on [WikiSpot] has allowed us to get up and running almost immediately. We've gotten farther in seeding our city wiki with initial articles, and creating template pages, than had we stuck with GetWiki, which ''was'' what we were using through last month, until we discovered Wiki Spot. + * In short, Wiki Spot is an online community of people who care about their cities and communities, understand wikis, are able to explain wikis and city wikis in plain English with much less technical lingo than on many other hosted wiki providers. + * In choosing Wiki Spot, you don't simply get a blank empty canvas and the wiki equivalent of writer's block. You become part of The Wiki Spot Community, where role model wikis, templates, and experience in running a city wiki are available to you. + + ''Please feel free to completely redo my above bullet points, into a more general '' Why Wiki Spot ''sales pitch. I just typed the above off the top of my head. I'll do more asap.'' --["Users/HiMY"] + + ------ + in no order -- some points to stress: + + * The concept of interwiki & paying attention to what's important + * recent changes, bookmarks, other stuff + * ease of editing + * comments, quick edit + * customization -- themes, your own domain if you want it + * power and ease of administration + * security settings (page-level, too). user groups. + * easy to do stuff in general + * nonprofit effort; we're all working together on this. a safe and supporting home for wikis. + + we should break out all these points into major areas and then have a lot of text, maybe quotes, and screenshots / images for each section. + ------- + Wiki Spot is a new option in wiki hosting and and software, but we offer many benefits over other wiki software and wiki providers. + + What does Wiki Spot offer? + + === It's Free! === + Wiki Spot is a '''nonprofit''' organization, run completely by your ["Donate" donations] and the generosity of the wiki developers. We will not use your wiki for commercial purposes, and we ask that you do the same. Our nonprofit nature allows you to build your wiki for your community, not for corporate interests. Wiki Spot will always be a free service, run on [wiki:sycamore:"Front_Page" free software]. + + === Super-simple page syntax=== + With its own intuitive ["Help with Editing" markup], a Wiki Spot wiki eliminates many of the barriers keeping new visitors from becoming new editors. Users don't have to know HTML to make good looking edits; anyone can contribute without knowing extensive programming languages. + Example markup: + * {{{__this__}}} to __underline__ + * {{{=This=}}} to make a header. + * {{{["Help with Linking" link]}}} makes a ["Help with Linking" link] + + === Innovative Editing === + With features such as inline ["Quick Edit"], site users can easily edit the parts of the page that catch their interest. Just a double-click on any section opens up a miniature editor (try it!). If you're working on a wiki page that has a location, such as many pages on local wikis, all you need to do to ["Help with Maps" add a map] to a page is to enter its street address. + + === Interwiki Community === + By joining Wiki Spot, your wiki is automatically connected to other wiki projects for building greater ["Interwiki Community" community]. Simply post your wiki on the ["Wiki Directory"], and existing Wiki Spot users can easily cross over to your wiki, using the same account. You can collaborate with other wikis, and even have special links in between wikis. + + === Quick setup of a new wiki === + You don't need to have any knowledge of webservers to start a wiki. All you need is a vision to ["Building Community" build a new community]. To start a wiki, all you need to do is head to ["Create a wiki"], come up with a name, and you're off and running! You don't have to deal with webservers, Apache, Linux, SQL, Python, or backups -- all of that is handled by the ["Wiki Spot Development" wiki developers]. + + === Easy wiki administration and customization === + To handle virtually all administrative needs, you don't need to hack the code of the site. Your wiki's {{{Wiki Settings}}} page gives you the ability to easily upload new stylesheets, set your logo, configure access controls, ban users and more. If you ever get lost, you can see Wiki Spot's ["Help for Wiki Administrators"], or just ask a ["FAQ" question]. + + === Portability === + If you ever decide to leave the Wiki Spot project, all of your edit history is saved in a database. We are currently working on stuff to make us more portable with other wiki software. + + === Reliability === + While not the biggest wiki software, our software has been run on several large wikis, including the 8,000-page [wiki:davis:"Front Page" Davis Wiki]. We have a large community that can find and fix bugs quickly. In addition, we keep backups.

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 20:33:21

Renamed to "About Wiki Spot"

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- = Current page draft = - - == It's easy to create a wiki == - - [[Image(creating_wiki.png)]] - - We take the headache out of getting a wiki up and running! Within minutes, your community can have a wiki, and you can start focusing on the important things -- like ["Building Community" building and seeding] your wiki! - - Does your community need a wiki? Is your idea non-commercial and does it fit within our ["Community Guidelines"]? Then go ahead and ["create a wiki"]! With Wiki Spot, the only prerequisites are some vision and drive! - - == We're dedicated to free == - - [[Image(wiki_open_source.png)]] - - Wiki Spot is a non-profit, member-supported effort. We're run completely by ["Donate" your generous donations]. Wiki Spot is free of advertisements and we hope to always keep it that way. There is no charge for creating and administering a wiki through Wiki Spot. - - We're devoted to free/open-source software, and we release all of the software that powers Wiki Spot under open-source licenses. - - By working together, we can make a great home for all of our communities' wikis. Our focus is on sustainability, not profit. - - == Easy to use == - - [[Image(quick_edit.png)]] - - It's incredibly easy to edit a Wiki Spot wiki! You don't have to know HTML to contribute to your favorite wikis. Just click the "Edit" button on a page, or ["Quick Edit" double click on an area of the page] you'd like to edit! - - Our focus is on allowing all members of the community to contribute and benefit from their resource, so we're always thinking about ways to make editing easier. - - With features such as inline ["quick edit" quick editing], people can easily edit the parts of the page that catch their interest. Just a double-click on any section opens up a miniature editor. (Try it!) - - And it's easy to add ["comments"] to pages, too! - - == Flexible and easy to administer == - - [[Image(security_settings.png)]] - - Our easy and powerful administration tools give you complete control over your wiki. Wikis are, by their nature, open to all to edit -- but sometimes you want fine-grained control over certain pages. Wiki Spot lets you can create security settings that allow groups of people to edit, or view, certain pages on your community's wiki! - - == Customization == - - [[Image(custom_theme.png)]] - - It's easy to customize your community's wiki with your own logo and themes. You can pick from a ["Themes" pre-made theme] or customize your style to your heart's content -- we give you full control over your wiki's Cascading Style Sheets and icons! - - You can also use your own domain name with your wiki. See our guide to ["using a custom domain name"]. - - == Interwiki Community == - - [[Image(interwiki_rc.png)]] - - By joining Wiki Spot, your wiki isn't just some lonely little blob out in cyberspace -- it's part of a network of wikis that can help build a greater community! - - We make it easy to watch changes on ''all of the wikis you're interested in'', because part of keeping a well-tended wiki is making sure you keep an eye on changes. Just click "watch this wiki" when you visit a wiki, and all of their changes show up on your ["Interwiki Recent Changes"] page! - - You can search all of the Wiki Spot wikis on our ["front page"], and you can even have special links in between wikis, called ["interwiki links"]. - - = Brainstorming = - What do you guys think of the direction I've been taking the page in? I am thinking of moving this page's contents to ["About Wiki Spot"] so that it's more likely to be seen. This page could be renamed "Manifesto" or something such? --["Users/PhilipNeustrom"] - I really like the direction you've been taking it. It needs something in layout -- the pictures seem to break the flow of the text, or the headings need to move or something. I'm not sure what yet. But yeah, good work. Well, there's not a lot on ["About Wiki Spot"], so it would be okay to move but the existing content there is important. Additionally, I support any plans to give our movement a manifesto. --["Users/BrentLaabs"] - - ------ - - Okay, what's really important about Wiki Spot - - * Anyone can create a wiki and start a community - * Linking wikis is awesome - * Nonprofit free service - * Quick editing and simple syntax reduce barriers to getting people involved - - Compared to any other wiki software/hosting solution, Wiki Spot is just better. It's faster, more customizable, easier to get users to join and edit, easier ''for'' users to edit, easier to administer, and faster to start using today! - - - ------- - - Why [Torontopedia] is on [WikiSpot]: - - Here are my reasons for first ''shortlisting'' [Project Sycamore] as the wiki engine of choice, then ''choosing'' [WikiSpot] hosting over installing and hosting it on our own servers. - - * Wikis are today where Blogs were two or so years ago in the minds of regular mainstream folks on the web. Not everyone ''gets'' the concept of wikis...yet. - * MediaWiki, the wiki engine powering Wikipedia, is geared not as general wiki software, but geared for running Wikipedia specifically. If a Wikipedia clone is not your goal, then using MediaWiki software is not a good choice. - * We found http://Wikinfo.org running on [http://GetWiki.net] software, a fork of MediaWiki, as a better choice...if you want to clone wikipedia or a significant part of it, yeah, but for a city based wiki, GetWiki software still didn't have that ''community'' feeling. So we kept looking. - * After discovering [DavisWiki] and looking around, we found a real community, with great entries, some short, some long, with numerous conversations and ongoing comments. Great, this is what we'd love to have here in Toronto. We now have a ''role model'' in DavisWiki. Next, hosting there or here? - * [Project Sycamore] is written in Python and not PHP programming language. We ain't familiar with Python at all, so anything to ease the learning curve is, anything to help us get up and running easier and faster is better and reassuring. - * Hosting [Torontopedia] on [WikiSpot] has allowed us to get up and running almost immediately. We've gotten farther in seeding our city wiki with initial articles, and creating template pages, than had we stuck with GetWiki, which ''was'' what we were using through last month, until we discovered Wiki Spot. - * In short, Wiki Spot is an online community of people who care about their cities and communities, understand wikis, are able to explain wikis and city wikis in plain English with much less technical lingo than on many other hosted wiki providers. - * In choosing Wiki Spot, you don't simply get a blank empty canvas and the wiki equivalent of writer's block. You become part of The Wiki Spot Community, where role model wikis, templates, and experience in running a city wiki are available to you. - - ''Please feel free to completely redo my above bullet points, into a more general '' Why Wiki Spot ''sales pitch. I just typed the above off the top of my head. I'll do more asap.'' --["Users/HiMY"] - - ------ - in no order -- some points to stress: - - * The concept of interwiki & paying attention to what's important - * recent changes, bookmarks, other stuff - * ease of editing - * comments, quick edit - * customization -- themes, your own domain if you want it - * power and ease of administration - * security settings (page-level, too). user groups. - * easy to do stuff in general - * nonprofit effort; we're all working together on this. a safe and supporting home for wikis. - - we should break out all these points into major areas and then have a lot of text, maybe quotes, and screenshots / images for each section. - ------- - Wiki Spot is a new option in wiki hosting and and software, but we offer many benefits over other wiki software and wiki providers. - - What does Wiki Spot offer? - - === It's Free! === - Wiki Spot is a '''nonprofit''' organization, run completely by your ["Donate" donations] and the generosity of the wiki developers. We will not use your wiki for commercial purposes, and we ask that you do the same. Our nonprofit nature allows you to build your wiki for your community, not for corporate interests. Wiki Spot will always be a free service, run on [wiki:sycamore:"Front_Page" free software]. - - === Super-simple page syntax=== - With its own intuitive ["Help with Editing" markup], a Wiki Spot wiki eliminates many of the barriers keeping new visitors from becoming new editors. Users don't have to know HTML to make good looking edits; anyone can contribute without knowing extensive programming languages. - Example markup: - * {{{__this__}}} to __underline__ - * {{{=This=}}} to make a header. - * {{{["Help with Linking" link]}}} makes a ["Help with Linking" link] - - === Innovative Editing === - With features such as inline ["Quick Edit"], site users can easily edit the parts of the page that catch their interest. Just a double-click on any section opens up a miniature editor (try it!). If you're working on a wiki page that has a location, such as many pages on local wikis, all you need to do to ["Help with Maps" add a map] to a page is to enter its street address. - - === Interwiki Community === - By joining Wiki Spot, your wiki is automatically connected to other wiki projects for building greater ["Interwiki Community" community]. Simply post your wiki on the ["Wiki Directory"], and existing Wiki Spot users can easily cross over to your wiki, using the same account. You can collaborate with other wikis, and even have special links in between wikis. - - === Quick setup of a new wiki === - You don't need to have any knowledge of webservers to start a wiki. All you need is a vision to ["Building Community" build a new community]. To start a wiki, all you need to do is head to ["Create a wiki"], come up with a name, and you're off and running! You don't have to deal with webservers, Apache, Linux, SQL, Python, or backups -- all of that is handled by the ["Wiki Spot Development" wiki developers]. - - === Easy wiki administration and customization === - To handle virtually all administrative needs, you don't need to hack the code of the site. Your wiki's {{{Wiki Settings}}} page gives you the ability to easily upload new stylesheets, set your logo, configure access controls, ban users and more. If you ever get lost, you can see Wiki Spot's ["Help for Wiki Administrators"], or just ask a ["FAQ" question]. - - === Portability === - If you ever decide to leave the Wiki Spot project, all of your edit history is saved in a database. We are currently working on stuff to make us more portable with other wiki software. - - === Reliability === - While not the biggest wiki software, our software has been run on several large wikis, including the 8,000-page [wiki:davis:"Front Page" Davis Wiki]. We have a large community that can find and fix bugs quickly. In addition, we keep backups.	+ #redirect About Wiki Spot

Why Wiki Spot

BrentLaabs — 2007-03-22 09:22:50

Differences for Why Wiki Spot

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	+ I really like the direction you've been taking it. It needs something in layout -- the pictures seem to break the flow of the text, or the headings need to move or something. I'm not sure what yet. But yeah, good work. Well, there's not a lot on ["About Wiki Spot"], so it would be okay to move but the existing content there is important. Additionally, I support any plans to give our movement a manifesto. --["Users/BrentLaabs"] + + ------

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 08:00:47

comment added

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	+ What do you guys think of the direction I've been taking the page in? I am thinking of moving this page's contents to ["About Wiki Spot"] so that it's more likely to be seen. This page could be renamed "Manifesto" or something such? --["Users/PhilipNeustrom"] +

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 04:44:31

(quick edit)

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- By joining Wiki Spot, your wiki isn't just some lonely little blob out in cyberspace -- it's part of a network of wikis that can help build greater community!	+ By joining Wiki Spot, your wiki isn't just some lonely little blob out in cyberspace -- it's part of a network of wikis that can help build a greater community!

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 04:43:37

(quick edit)

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- With features such as inline ["quick edit" quick editing], people can easily edit the parts of the page that catch their interest. Just a double-click on any section opens up a miniature editor (try it!).	+ With features such as inline ["quick edit" quick editing], people can easily edit the parts of the page that catch their interest. Just a double-click on any section opens up a miniature editor. (Try it!)

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 04:42:13

(quick edit)

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- Does your community need a wiki? Is your idea non-commercial and does it fit within our ["Community Guidelines"]? Then go ahead and ["create a wiki"]! With Wiki Spot, the only prerequisites are your vision and drive!	+ Does your community need a wiki? Is your idea non-commercial and does it fit within our ["Community Guidelines"]? Then go ahead and ["create a wiki"]! With Wiki Spot, the only prerequisites are some vision and drive!

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 04:41:34

(quick edit)

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- We take the headache out of getting up and running with a wiki! Within minutes, your community can have a wiki, and you can start focusing on the important things -- like ["Building Community" building and seeding] your wiki!	+ We take the headache out of getting a wiki up and running! Within minutes, your community can have a wiki, and you can start focusing on the important things -- like ["Building Community" building and seeding] your wiki!

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 04:41:04

(quick edit)

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- We take the headache out of getting up and running with a wiki! Within minutes, your community can have a wiki up and running, and you can start focusing on the important things -- like ["Building Community" building and seeding] your wiki!	+ We take the headache out of getting up and running with a wiki! Within minutes, your community can have a wiki, and you can start focusing on the important things -- like ["Building Community" building and seeding] your wiki!

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 04:12:04

minor

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- Does your community need a wiki? Is your idea non-commercial and does it fit with our ["Community Guidelines"]? Then go ahead and ["create a wiki"]! With Wiki Spot, the only prerequisites are your vision and drive!	+ Does your community need a wiki? Is your idea non-commercial and does it fit within our ["Community Guidelines"]? Then go ahead and ["create a wiki"]! With Wiki Spot, the only prerequisites are your vision and drive!

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 03:57:16

Upload of image wiki_open_source.png.

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 03:57:16

Image wiki_open_source.png deleted.

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 03:54:27

Differences for Why Wiki Spot

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- [[Image(wiki_ring_tones.png)]]	+ [[Image(wiki_open_source.png)]]

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 03:53:59

Upload of image wiki_open_source.png.

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 03:47:53

Upload of image creating_wiki.png.

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 03:47:53

Image creating_wiki.png deleted.

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 03:46:25

Upload of image creating_wiki.png.

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 03:46:25

Image creating_wiki.png deleted.

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 02:58:33

interwiki community section

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	+ + You can also use your own domain name with your wiki. See our guide to ["using a custom domain name"]. + + == Interwiki Community == + + [[Image(interwiki_rc.png)]] + + By joining Wiki Spot, your wiki isn't just some lonely little blob out in cyberspace -- it's part of a network of wikis that can help build greater community! + + We make it easy to watch changes on ''all of the wikis you're interested in'', because part of keeping a well-tended wiki is making sure you keep an eye on changes. Just click "watch this wiki" when you visit a wiki, and all of their changes show up on your ["Interwiki Recent Changes"] page! + + You can search all of the Wiki Spot wikis on our ["front page"], and you can even have special links in between wikis, called ["interwiki links"].

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 02:57:31

Upload of image interwiki_rc.png.

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 02:17:05

customization section..time to get some more coffee

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	+ + == Customization == + + [[Image(custom_theme.png)]] + + It's easy to customize your community's wiki with your own logo and themes. You can pick from a ["Themes" pre-made theme] or customize your style to your heart's content -- we give you full control over your wiki's Cascading Style Sheets and icons!

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 02:16:27

Upload of image custom_theme.png.

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 02:06:03

administration area

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	+ + == Flexible and easy to administer == + + [[Image(security_settings.png)]] + + Our easy and powerful administration tools give you complete control over your wiki. Wikis are, by their nature, open to all to edit -- but sometimes you want fine-grained control over certain pages. Wiki Spot lets you can create security settings that allow groups of people to edit, or view, certain pages on your community's wiki!

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 02:05:39

Upload of image security_settings.png.

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 01:53:00

easy to use section

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	+ + == Easy to use == + + [[Image(quick_edit.png)]] + + It's incredibly easy to edit a Wiki Spot wiki! You don't have to know HTML to contribute to your favorite wikis. Just click the "Edit" button on a page, or ["Quick Edit" double click on an area of the page] you'd like to edit! + + Our focus is on allowing all members of the community to contribute and benefit from their resource, so we're always thinking about ways to make editing easier. + + With features such as inline ["quick edit" quick editing], people can easily edit the parts of the page that catch their interest. Just a double-click on any section opens up a miniature editor (try it!). + + And it's easy to add ["comments"] to pages, too!

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 01:52:06

Upload of image quick_edit.png.

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 01:13:07

getting this started

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	+ = Current page draft = + + == It's easy to create a wiki == + + [[Image(creating_wiki.png)]] + + We take the headache out of getting up and running with a wiki! Within minutes, your community can have a wiki up and running, and you can start focusing on the important things -- like ["Building Community" building and seeding] your wiki! + + Does your community need a wiki? Is your idea non-commercial and does it fit with our ["Community Guidelines"]? Then go ahead and ["create a wiki"]! With Wiki Spot, the only prerequisites are your vision and drive! + + == We're dedicated to free == + + [[Image(wiki_ring_tones.png)]] + + Wiki Spot is a non-profit, member-supported effort. We're run completely by ["Donate" your generous donations]. Wiki Spot is free of advertisements and we hope to always keep it that way. There is no charge for creating and administering a wiki through Wiki Spot. + + We're devoted to free/open-source software, and we release all of the software that powers Wiki Spot under open-source licenses. + + By working together, we can make a great home for all of our communities' wikis. Our focus is on sustainability, not profit. + + = Brainstorming =

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 01:12:46

Upload of image wiki_ring_tones.png.

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-22 00:20:59

Upload of image creating_wiki.png.

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-03-21 05:32:03

moving wiki spot tour contents here..merging together in a minute

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	+ ------- + Wiki Spot is a new option in wiki hosting and and software, but we offer many benefits over other wiki software and wiki providers. + + What does Wiki Spot offer? + + === It's Free! === + Wiki Spot is a '''nonprofit''' organization, run completely by your ["Donate" donations] and the generosity of the wiki developers. We will not use your wiki for commercial purposes, and we ask that you do the same. Our nonprofit nature allows you to build your wiki for your community, not for corporate interests. Wiki Spot will always be a free service, run on [wiki:sycamore:"Front_Page" free software]. + + === Super-simple page syntax=== + With its own intuitive ["Help with Editing" markup], a Wiki Spot wiki eliminates many of the barriers keeping new visitors from becoming new editors. Users don't have to know HTML to make good looking edits; anyone can contribute without knowing extensive programming languages. + Example markup: + * {{{__this__}}} to __underline__ + * {{{=This=}}} to make a header. + * {{{["Help with Linking" link]}}} makes a ["Help with Linking" link] + + === Innovative Editing === + With features such as inline ["Quick Edit"], site users can easily edit the parts of the page that catch their interest. Just a double-click on any section opens up a miniature editor (try it!). If you're working on a wiki page that has a location, such as many pages on local wikis, all you need to do to ["Help with Maps" add a map] to a page is to enter its street address. + + === Interwiki Community === + By joining Wiki Spot, your wiki is automatically connected to other wiki projects for building greater ["Interwiki Community" community]. Simply post your wiki on the ["Wiki Directory"], and existing Wiki Spot users can easily cross over to your wiki, using the same account. You can collaborate with other wikis, and even have special links in between wikis. + + === Quick setup of a new wiki === + You don't need to have any knowledge of webservers to start a wiki. All you need is a vision to ["Building Community" build a new community]. To start a wiki, all you need to do is head to ["Create a wiki"], come up with a name, and you're off and running! You don't have to deal with webservers, Apache, Linux, SQL, Python, or backups -- all of that is handled by the ["Wiki Spot Development" wiki developers]. + + === Easy wiki administration and customization === + To handle virtually all administrative needs, you don't need to hack the code of the site. Your wiki's {{{Wiki Settings}}} page gives you the ability to easily upload new stylesheets, set your logo, configure access controls, ban users and more. If you ever get lost, you can see Wiki Spot's ["Help for Wiki Administrators"], or just ask a ["FAQ" question]. + + === Portability === + If you ever decide to leave the Wiki Spot project, all of your edit history is saved in a database. We are currently working on stuff to make us more portable with other wiki software. + + === Reliability === + While not the biggest wiki software, our software has been run on several large wikis, including the 8,000-page [wiki:davis:"Front Page" Davis Wiki]. We have a large community that can find and fix bugs quickly. In addition, we keep backups.

Why Wiki Spot

AmyZimmerman — 2007-03-05 02:58:08

"Administer" is more official than "adminstrate," but change it back if you want

Differences for Why Wiki Spot

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- * Non-profit free service	+ * Nonprofit free service
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- Compared to any other wiki software/hosting solution, Wiki Spot is just better. It's faster, more customizable, easier to get users to join and edit, easier ''for'' users to edit, easier to administrate, and faster to start using today!	+ Compared to any other wiki software/hosting solution, Wiki Spot is just better. It's faster, more customizable, easier to get users to join and edit, easier ''for'' users to edit, easier to administer, and faster to start using today!
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- * Hosting [Torontopedia] on [WikiSpot] has allowed us to get up and running almost immediately. We've gotten farther in seeding our city wiki with initial articles, and creating template pages, than had we stuck with GetWiki, which ''was'' what we were using through last month, until we discovered WikiSpot. - * In short, WikiSpot is an online community of people who care about their cities and communities, understand wikis, are able to explain wikis and city wikis in plain english with much less technical lingo than on many other hosted wiki providers. - * In choosing WikiSpot, you don't simply get a blank empty canvas and the wiki equivalent of writer's block. You become part of The WikiSpot Community, where role model wikis, templates, and experience in running a city wiki are available to you.	+ * Hosting [Torontopedia] on [WikiSpot] has allowed us to get up and running almost immediately. We've gotten farther in seeding our city wiki with initial articles, and creating template pages, than had we stuck with GetWiki, which ''was'' what we were using through last month, until we discovered Wiki Spot. + * In short, Wiki Spot is an online community of people who care about their cities and communities, understand wikis, are able to explain wikis and city wikis in plain English with much less technical lingo than on many other hosted wiki providers. + * In choosing Wiki Spot, you don't simply get a blank empty canvas and the wiki equivalent of writer's block. You become part of The Wiki Spot Community, where role model wikis, templates, and experience in running a city wiki are available to you.
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- ''Please feel free to completely redo my above bullet points, into a more general'' Why WikiSpot ''sales pitch. I just typed the above off the top of my head. I'll do more asap.'' --["Users/HiMY"]	+ ''Please feel free to completely redo my above bullet points, into a more general '' Why Wiki Spot ''sales pitch. I just typed the above off the top of my head. I'll do more asap.'' --["Users/HiMY"]
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- * easy of editing	+ * ease of editing
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- * non-profit effort; we're all working together on this. a safe and supporting home for wikis.	+ * nonprofit effort; we're all working together on this. a safe and supporting home for wikis.

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-02-24 06:16:06

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- * non-profit effort; we're all working together on this	+ * non-profit effort; we're all working together on this. a safe and supporting home for wikis.

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-02-24 06:14:43

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- ''Please feel free to completely redo my above bullet points, into a more general'' Why WikiSpot ''sales pitch. I just typed the above off the top of my head. I'll do more asap. --["Users/HiMY"]	+ ''Please feel free to completely redo my above bullet points, into a more general'' Why WikiSpot ''sales pitch. I just typed the above off the top of my head. I'll do more asap.'' --["Users/HiMY"]

Why Wiki Spot

PhilipNeustrom — 2007-02-24 06:14:15

adding tad to bottom

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- ---	+ -------
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	+ + ------ + in no order -- some points to stress: + + * The concept of interwiki & paying attention to what's important + * recent changes, bookmarks, other stuff + * easy of editing + * comments, quick edit + * customization -- themes, your own domain if you want it + * power and ease of administration + * security settings (page-level, too). user groups. + * easy to do stuff in general + * non-profit effort; we're all working together on this + + we should break out all these points into major areas and then have a lot of text, maybe quotes, and screenshots / images for each section.

Why Wiki Spot

HiMY — 2007-02-23 23:22:59

My experience on why choosing wikispot for Torontopedia...

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	+ + + --- + + Why [Torontopedia] is on [WikiSpot]: + + Here are my reasons for first ''shortlisting'' [Project Sycamore] as the wiki engine of choice, then ''choosing'' [WikiSpot] hosting over installing and hosting it on our own servers. + + * Wikis are today where Blogs were two or so years ago in the minds of regular mainstream folks on the web. Not everyone ''gets'' the concept of wikis...yet. + * MediaWiki, the wiki engine powering Wikipedia, is geared not as general wiki software, but geared for running Wikipedia specifically. If a Wikipedia clone is not your goal, then using MediaWiki software is not a good choice. + * We found http://Wikinfo.org running on [http://GetWiki.net] software, a fork of MediaWiki, as a better choice...if you want to clone wikipedia or a significant part of it, yeah, but for a city based wiki, GetWiki software still didn't have that ''community'' feeling. So we kept looking. + * After discovering [DavisWiki] and looking around, we found a real community, with great entries, some short, some long, with numerous conversations and ongoing comments. Great, this is what we'd love to have here in Toronto. We now have a ''role model'' in DavisWiki. Next, hosting there or here? + * [Project Sycamore] is written in Python and not PHP programming language. We ain't familiar with Python at all, so anything to ease the learning curve is, anything to help us get up and running easier and faster is better and reassuring. + * Hosting [Torontopedia] on [WikiSpot] has allowed us to get up and running almost immediately. We've gotten farther in seeding our city wiki with initial articles, and creating template pages, than had we stuck with GetWiki, which ''was'' what we were using through last month, until we discovered WikiSpot. + * In short, WikiSpot is an online community of people who care about their cities and communities, understand wikis, are able to explain wikis and city wikis in plain english with much less technical lingo than on many other hosted wiki providers. + * In choosing WikiSpot, you don't simply get a blank empty canvas and the wiki equivalent of writer's block. You become part of The WikiSpot Community, where role model wikis, templates, and experience in running a city wiki are available to you. + + ''Please feel free to completely redo my above bullet points, into a more general'' Why WikiSpot ''sales pitch. I just typed the above off the top of my head. I'll do more asap. --["Users/HiMY"]

Why Wiki Spot

BrentLaabs — 2007-02-18 22:01:54

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	+ + Compared to any other wiki software/hosting solution, Wiki Spot is just better. It's faster, more customizable, easier to get users to join and edit, easier ''for'' users to edit, easier to administrate, and faster to start using today!

Why Wiki Spot

BrentLaabs — 2007-02-18 02:08:30

starting this over

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- Wiki Spot is a new option in wiki hosting and and software, but we offer many benefits over other wiki software and wiki providers.	+ Okay, what's really important about Wiki Spot
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- What does Wiki Spot offer? - - === Super-simple page syntax=== - With its own intuitive ["Help with Editing" markup], a Wiki Spot wiki eliminates many of the barriers keeping new visitors from becoming new editors. Users don't have to know HTML to make good looking edits; any one can contribute without knowing extensive programming languages. - Example markup: - * {{{__this__}}} to __underline__ - * {{{=This=}}} to make a header. - * {{{["Help with Linking"]}}} makes a ["Help with Linking" link] - - === Innovative Editing === - With features such as inline ["Quick Edit"], site users can easily edit the parts of the page that catch their interest. Just a double-click on any section opens up a miniature editor (try it!). If you're working on a wiki page that has a location, such as many pages on local wikis, all you need to do to ["Help with Maps" add a map] to a page is to enter its street address. - - === Interwiki Community === - By joining Wiki Spot, your wiki is automatically connected to other wiki projects for building greater ["Interwiki Community" community]. Simply post your wiki on the ["Wiki Directory"], and existing Wiki Spot users can easily cross over to your wiki, using the same account. You can collaborate with other wikis, and even have special links in between wikis. - - === Quick setup of a new wiki === - You don't need to have any knowledge of webservers to start a wiki. All you need is a vision to ["Building Community" build a new community]. To start a wiki, all you need to do is head to ["Create a wiki"], come up with a name, and you're off and running! You don't have to deal with webservers, Apache, Linux, SQL, Python, or backups -- all of that is handled by the ["Wiki Spot Development" wiki developers]. - - === Easy wiki administration and customization === - To handle virtually all administrative needs, you don't need to hack the code of the site. Your wiki's {{{Wiki Settings}}} page gives you the ability to easily upload new stylesheets, set your logo, configure access controls, ban users, and more. If you ever get lost, you can see Wiki Spot's ["Help for Wiki Administrators"], or just ask a ["FAQ" question]. - - === Non-profit === - Wiki Spot is a non-profit organization, run completely by your ["Donate" donations] and the generosity of the wiki developers. We are hosted by Cernio, a server cooperative. We will not use your wiki for commercial purposes, and we ask that you do the same. Our non-profit nature allows you to build your wiki for your community, not for corporate interests. Wiki Spot will always be a free service, run on [wiki:sycamore:"Front_Page" free software]. - - === Portability === - If you ever decide to leave the Wiki Spot project, all of your edit history is saved in a database. We are currently working on stuff to make us more portable with other wiki software. - - === Reliability === - While not the biggest wiki software, our software has been run on several large wikis, including the 8000 page [wiki:davis:"Front Page" Davis Wiki]. We have a large community which can find and fix bugs quickly. In addition, we keep backups.	+ * Anyone can create a wiki and start a community + * Linking wikis is awesome + * Non-profit free service + * Quick editing and simple syntax reduce barriers to getting people involved

Why Wiki Spot

BrentLaabs — 2007-02-16 11:18:21

(quick edit)

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- With features such as inline ["Quick Edit"], site users can easily edit the parts of the page that catch their interest. Just a double-click on any section opens up a miniature editor (try it!). If you're working on a wiki page that has a location, such as many pages on local wikis, all you need to do to ["Help with Maps" add a map] to a page is to enter its address.	+ With features such as inline ["Quick Edit"], site users can easily edit the parts of the page that catch their interest. Just a double-click on any section opens up a miniature editor (try it!). If you're working on a wiki page that has a location, such as many pages on local wikis, all you need to do to ["Help with Maps" add a map] to a page is to enter its street address.

Why Wiki Spot

BrentLaabs — 2007-02-16 11:17:25

(quick edit)

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- What does wiki spot offer?	+ What does Wiki Spot offer?

Why Wiki Spot

BrentLaabs — 2007-02-15 03:48:28

done for now. please revise

Differences for Why Wiki Spot

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	+ === Innovative Editing === + With features such as inline ["Quick Edit"], site users can easily edit the parts of the page that catch their interest. Just a double-click on any section opens up a miniature editor (try it!). If you're working on a wiki page that has a location, such as many pages on local wikis, all you need to do to ["Help with Maps" add a map] to a page is to enter its address. +
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- === Easy wiki administration ===	+ === Easy wiki administration and customization ===
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- * {{{[[Address]]}}} = awesome - Portability - reliability - quick edit	+ === Portability === + If you ever decide to leave the Wiki Spot project, all of your edit history is saved in a database. We are currently working on stuff to make us more portable with other wiki software. + + === Reliability === + While not the biggest wiki software, our software has been run on several large wikis, including the 8000 page [wiki:davis:"Front Page" Davis Wiki]. We have a large community which can find and fix bugs quickly. In addition, we keep backups.

Why Wiki Spot

BrentLaabs — 2007-02-15 03:08:53

...in progress...

Differences for Why Wiki Spot

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- You don't need to have any knowledge of webservers to start a wiki. All you need is a vision to ["Building Community" build a new community]. To start a wiki, all you need to do is head to ["Create a wiki"], come up with a name, and you're off and running! You don't have to deal with webservers, Apache, Linux, SQL or Python -- all of that is handled by the ["Wiki Development" wiki developers].	+ You don't need to have any knowledge of webservers to start a wiki. All you need is a vision to ["Building Community" build a new community]. To start a wiki, all you need to do is head to ["Create a wiki"], come up with a name, and you're off and running! You don't have to deal with webservers, Apache, Linux, SQL, Python, or backups -- all of that is handled by the ["Wiki Spot Development" wiki developers].
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- * Easy administration -- simply go to Wiki Settings pages to configure most site settings - * Run by a non-profit -- free service; free software	+ To handle virtually all administrative needs, you don't need to hack the code of the site. Your wiki's {{{Wiki Settings}}} page gives you the ability to easily upload new stylesheets, set your logo, configure access controls, ban users, and more. If you ever get lost, you can see Wiki Spot's ["Help for Wiki Administrators"], or just ask a ["FAQ" question]. + + === Non-profit === + Wiki Spot is a non-profit organization, run completely by your ["Donate" donations] and the generosity of the wiki developers. We are hosted by Cernio, a server cooperative. We will not use your wiki for commercial purposes, and we ask that you do the same. Our non-profit nature allows you to build your wiki for your community, not for corporate interests. Wiki Spot will always be a free service, run on [wiki:sycamore:"Front_Page" free software]. +
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	+ quick edit

Why Wiki Spot

BrentLaabs — 2007-02-15 02:57:21

save point; still working on it

Differences for Why Wiki Spot

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	+ Wiki Spot is a new option in wiki hosting and and software, but we offer many benefits over other wiki software and wiki providers. + + What does wiki spot offer? + + === Super-simple page syntax=== + With its own intuitive ["Help with Editing" markup], a Wiki Spot wiki eliminates many of the barriers keeping new visitors from becoming new editors. Users don't have to know HTML to make good looking edits; any one can contribute without knowing extensive programming languages. + Example markup: + * {{{__this__}}} to __underline__ + * {{{=This=}}} to make a header. + * {{{["Help with Linking"]}}} makes a ["Help with Linking" link] + + === Interwiki Community === + By joining Wiki Spot, your wiki is automatically connected to other wiki projects for building greater ["Interwiki Community" community]. Simply post your wiki on the ["Wiki Directory"], and existing Wiki Spot users can easily cross over to your wiki, using the same account. You can collaborate with other wikis, and even have special links in between wikis. + + === Quick setup of a new wiki === + You don't need to have any knowledge of webservers to start a wiki. All you need is a vision to ["Building Community" build a new community]. To start a wiki, all you need to do is head to ["Create a wiki"], come up with a name, and you're off and running! You don't have to deal with webservers, Apache, Linux, SQL or Python -- all of that is handled by the ["Wiki Development" wiki developers]. + + === Easy wiki administration === + * Easy administration -- simply go to Wiki Settings pages to configure most site settings + * Run by a non-profit -- free service; free software + * {{{[[Address]]}}} = awesome + Portability + reliability